


The Girl of Stardust

by pinkgoesgoodwithgreen



Series: Star Wars Detectives AU [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crimes & Criminals, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-11 20:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10473888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkgoesgoodwithgreen/pseuds/pinkgoesgoodwithgreen
Summary: Cassian Andor's life has been ruled by the drug cartels since he was six years old. Now a detective for the San Diego Police Department, the daughter of infamous narcotics chemist, Galen Erso, has resurfaced. She is his only chance of taking down the Empire - the cartel that rules the Southern Mexico and North American drug trade.Will Jyn Erso help or hinder his investigation?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick thank you for choosing to read my story just before you start! Major notes are at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!

Cassian had never liked nightclubs. They were all so bright and so dark at the same time, and the noise of the music and people screaming made his head spin. Even in his younger years, before the police and even before the army, he had preferred a quiet bar with one or two friends to a raucous club; now they just made him feel old.

Kay Esso, his partner and the closest he had to a friend, sat next to him, looking equally as uncomfortable and out of place.

Out of seemingly nowhere, the young and spritely intern Leia Organa plonked down next to him. When Cassian had first met Leia, he wrote her off as just another kid who got the job because her father was the boss. However a year on and Cassian had made the (very wise) decision never to cross her. 

“Oh come on you two!” Leia all but shrieked, grabbing onto Kay and shaking him. “Even Draven’s up, there is no way I’m letting you two sit here looking miserable all night. Have some fun!” She started to tug on Kay’s arm and he shot Cassian a look of panic.

“Actually Leia, we were just heading to the bar,” Cassian intercepted, saving his friend. Leia’s grin did not falter.

“Perfect! I’ll take a vodka and coke, Cass!” She smiled.

“Aren’t you 19?” Kay questioned. Leia shushed him as she shoved him out the booth, and Cassian couldn’t help but laugh.

“These office parties will be the death of me Cassian, I swear it,” Kay reflected. “I sometimes find the criminals less vexing than our youthful colleagues.” Cassian smiled as he pushed his way through the sea of people. He couldn’t help but like Kay; the two were similar in age and pessimism, which lead to a predictable friendship.

The crowd seemed to grow with every step Cassian took. It wasn’t long until he turned around to discover Kay was nowhere in sight. He called out to him, but it was all in vain - Kay was lost to him for the night. It briefly crossed his mind he may never see his friend, or the outside world for that matter, again.

The sight of the bar was his salvation. He sighed with relief as he collapsed into a gap against the counter. Eventually he caught the attention of the barman and ordered only one beer, disregarding Leia and even Kay.

“You look lost,” came a soft English voice from next to him. Almost startled, he looked over to see a short young woman, gently sipping at a drink in her hand. She was exceptionally pretty; short brown hair that fell to just her shoulders, mellowed green eyes, and a soft face. She was wearing a short black dress, nothing too extravagant but on her it looked incredible.

“Just a bit,” he laughed and she smirked as a reply. “Well, you don’t exactly look too invested yourself.” And it was true; despite looking the part much more than Cassian did, she seemed nervous and jumpy - it was almost unnoticeable, but Cassian was well-trained in the art of reading people.

It was her turn to laugh this time, nervously he noted. “Am I that obvious?” She paused to think before continuing. “This isn’t really my scene. I came with the hopes it would be, though I haven’t got much farther than the bar all night.” She took another sip of her drink and then turned to look up at Cassian with a smile. “Liana,” she introduced herself as.

“Cassian, he offered back. He noticed how dimples form around her lips as she smiled; he liked that.

“So, Cassian, if you’re the type of person who feels lost in a nightclub, what are you doing here?”

“I was supposed to be getting drinks with friends,” he replied, looking around the sea of people and not seeing one familiar face. “But I seem to have lost them.” Liana laughed again. She had a pretty laugh. “What about yourself?” He asked.

“Like I said, I hoped it would be my kind of thing,” Cassian noticed a faint glimmer of something akin to resignation, almost defeat, in her eyes, but it was gone in an instant, replaced once again with her smirk. “But I don’t know, maybe I was hoping to meet the right person.”

If years of training had not taught how to keep a poker face, Cassian would be blushing. He took another sip of his drink to mask the grin, Leia’s demand to have fun echoing around his head. The time on his watch read 12:43 am, and he concluded he had more than overstayed his welcome in this god awful nightclub.

Turning to face the beautiful young woman in front of him, he made a decision.

“Well, Liana,” he said in his best attempt at a suave voice. “If neither of us particularly want to be here, we could just… Leave?”

Her smirk grew wider, and she couldn’t conceal her blush as well as Cassian had.

“I don’t see any reason why not,” she replied, smiling. “Lead the way, Cassian.” Without thinking about it too deeply, Cassian took her hand and started to make his way back through the crowds. The last thing he saw in the club was Leia staring at him and Liana, then smiling at him, and finally - giving him the thumbs up of approval.  
****** 

When he woke, Cassian was slightly surprised to see she was gone. The nightmares had woken him up again; the blaring red lights of his alarm clock read 4:37 am, roughly the same time he woke up every night.

On the odd occasion he went home with a woman, when he woke up in a cold sweat with the beginnings of a scream caught in his throat, the woman was still lying there, sleeping blissfully. He would then just lie there, feigning sleep until the woman eventually left. But Liana was already gone. There was a slight pang of sadness in his stomach, mixed with the usual adrenaline and fear after a nightmare. Cassian had really liked her.

But alas, she was gone, and with nothing but a first name and a face, it was unlikely he would ever see her again.

He dragged himself out of the tangle of bedsheets (which smelled of her), still feeling queasy, and stumbled into the bathroom. His hands were shaking and perspiration was still dripping from his forehead. Fighting the urge to throw up, he splashed his face with cold water and slid down onto the cool bathroom floor. He rested his head in his hands and began to recount the names of the last five people he spoke to. A coping mechanism he had been taught in rehab years ago, it was one of the few that actually worked.

Once he felt like he could stand again, he pulled himself up and trudged back to his bedroom. Clambering back into bed, he hoped of of just a few more hours of sleep; the unfamiliar scent of perfume calmed him, and sleep came much easier than expected.  
***** 

He was awoken once more by the sound of his phone aggressively vibrating on his bedside table. Jumping up in a sleepy panic, he grabbed his phone and answered. Kay spoke before he had the chance.

“Cassian,” Kay’s voice sounded perhaps the most agitated he had heard it sound in a long time. “I hope you’re up and dressed, I’m pulling into your street now.”  
Cassian couldn’t quite process what was happening. He checked the time and it was still an hour and a half before they were supposed to be in work.

“Kay what’s going on? Has something happened?” He asked, rather groggily.

“They’ve found her, they’ve found Jyn Erso.”

It took him a few seconds to realise what he had just heard, and then Cassian’s mouth fell open.

Three months he and Kay had been searching for the daughter of infamous narcotics chemist Galen Erso; she was their best hope at locating Galen, and getting access to the information Saw Gerrera had been hoarding from them.

“Dios mío… Kay I’ll be ready in ten minutes, wait outside for me.”

“Well, hurry, I’ve got Leia here with me.” Kay replied, and Cassian’s eyes narrowed.

“Kay, you didn’t…” There was a brief pause from the other end, followed by a horrified gasp.

“Jesus christ, Cassian, no! She fell asleep in the taxi and I didn’t know where she lived! Good lord, just hurry up.”

As promised, ten minutes later Cassian was flying down the stairs of his apartment and outside into Kay’s car. Kay was quite sour with him for abandoning him for a girl last night, however it was quickly forgotten considering the urgency of the situation. A half-asleep and fully hungover Leia sat in the back seat, she welcomed him with a grunt.

They had barely started driving before Cassian was showering them with questions.

“Antilles picked her up this morning for drunk driving,” Kay explained. “It wasn’t until she was being processed and they ran her prints that she was recognised. I just got off the phone with Draven, you and I are to question her with him when we get in, Leia will be shadowing us.”

Cassian ran a hand through his hair, attempting to take in everything he was being told. A strange mix of nerves and disbelief was slowly growing in his stomach; for so long he had dreamed of taking the Empire cartel down. To take out Erso would be his first major blow.

His hangover and lack of sleep long forgotten, Cassian all but leapt out of his car and into the precinct. The place was in chaos. Detectives and officers alike running around, paperwork flying everywhere; amidst the chaos was Captain Draven talking on the phone, who promptly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Cassian and Kay.

“Andor, Esso!” He barked. “Erso’s in the interrogation room. I’ll be there shortly; I’m on the phone with the Chief, she wants information, and soon.” Kay and Cassian nodded in response, and wasted no time walking towards the interrogation room, Leia following just behind.

Once there, Cassian suddenly felt overwhelmed. He paused just outside the door, and turned to Kay - seeing the same exhilaration in his eyes. With a slight nod of encouragement to his friend, Cassian swung open the door.

And there, cuffed to the table in the middle of the room, sat Jyn Erso. The second Cassian saw her, his stomach fell to the floor. She was still in the same black dress.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! It is a little exposition heavy but I enjoyed writing it. I have some notices but I'll do them at the end of the chapter. Hope you like it!

The first thing she recognised him by were his eyes. Jyn realised how cliche that was, but his eyes were what first drew her to him; they were dark and expressive, she could see his entire life through through them.

Alas, this was not the situation in which she had hoped to see those eyes again.

Cassian’s - as she knew him - mouth fell open the moment he walked through the door, the shock-horror immediately evident on his face. For a few seconds, Jyn was mortified too; she was still annoyed at herself for sneaking out like she did. But she couldn't take the risk - evidentially she was right. 

Her attitude changed once she saw the way Cassian had almost collapsed. Looking directly at him, she grinned. This could work in her favour.

A tall slender man with black hair stood next to Cassian, gazing with perplexity between the two. He cleared his throat and strode across the room towards Jyn, a tiny brunette girl following close behind.

“Miss Erso,” the English accent was immediately clear in his voice. “My name is Detective Esso, this is my partner Detective Andor.” He introduced them both as.

Cassian Andor, she thought to herself, it was a nice name. The man himself moved towards the table slowly, all whilst staring at Jyn in disbelief. She smirked.

“I’m innocent,” she joked, gesturing at the handcuffs which currently bound her to the table. Detective Esso looked at her, unamused.

“I’m sure you can hazard a guess why you’re here. Captain Draven will be here shortly to discuss what will happen next...” Detective Esso started. Oddly enough, a tall well-built man carrying a file came bounding through the door at that very moment.

“Detectives,” he grunted, interrupting Esso. The two acknowledged him, and Cassian stood up to let the Captain take his seat. She was still grinning at him, and he still couldn’t meet her gaze.

“Jyn Erso,” Draven said. Hearing her real name spoken out loud for the first time in years broke her out her stupor a little. She hadn’t been called Jyn since she was eight years old. “That is your given name, is it not? Daughter of Galen Erso, a known Imperial chemist?”

“What is this?” Jyn questioned. She knew she was here because of her father, but she didn’t know how she supposed to be of use. For a long time she had convinced herself he was dead, it made things easier.

“A chance,” Draven said, leaning in towards her. “A chance for you to start over. We want you to help us find your father.” He said this as he opened the folder and slid it over the table. She pulled it to her, seeing her father’s picture on one side, and Orson Krennic’s, the man responsible for her father’s fall from grace, on the other. 

“Detective Andor has some questions for you regarding your father.”

Amidst the chaos of her past, she had almost forgotten Cassian. Looking over to him she noticed he had composed himself in front of his Captain, and was now filing through his papers - still a little flustered.

“When was the last time you had contact with your father?” He asked, slightly calmer than she had anticipated. Though his Mexican accent was more evident now he was under pressure. 

With the question, he looked behind him to the young girl, who had been sleepily dormant till now; upon seeing him look at her she sprang into action, taking notes. Jyn smiled at the girl, purposefully stalling her answer.

“Sixteen years ago,” she replied eventually, turning back to Cassian. “Look, if you want information about my father, you’ve come to the wrong person. I have no idea where he is, what he’s doing, or who he’s doing it with.”

“When was your last contact with Saw Gerrera?” Cassian asked, disregarding her. This caught her off guard; no one was supposed to know she had been with Saw.

They had been so careful - it was almost a year and a half after her mother’s death that she saw anyone but him, another year again before she went back to school (under a different name, not even daring to go back to Mexico or America).

“I, I,” she stammered, failing at hiding her shock. “Saw abandoned me when I was sixteen. I’ve had nothing to do with him, or the Empire, or my father in a very long time.” Jyn was tired of this. She had been awake all night and was not yet prepared to deal with her past. “What do you even need me for? Can’t you just arrest my father? Or Krennic? What help am I meant to be?”

“We have a significant lack of evidence,” it was Detective Esso who answered her. “We have nothing more on any of the higher ups in the Empire than a few fraud cases. The odds of taking down an entire cartel with just a fraud case are very poor.”

“We need what Saw Gerrera has.” Draven said plainly. “There are rumours of a detailed plan to take down any opposition, including police outpoints, in both California and south Mexico. And we are led to believe Gerrera has enough evidence to prove this. As well as the son of Damien Rook, Bodhi Rook. Our sources say he defected.” Jyn remembered the Rook family from her youth in Mexico. She had played with Bodhi when they were children, Damien had always worked very closely with her father so they saw each other a lot.

“Well, you and Saw are on the same side, aren’t you?” She asked, desperately trying to decrease her involvement.

“Saw’s an extremist. We need someone to get us past the front door.” Draven told her. “It may have been years since you last saw him, but I bet he’d agree to meet you before any of us.”

Something inside of her was telling her to just go with these men, to trust them. For so long, she had been running; from the Empire, from her past, from herself. Maybe now was the time to stop, and actually do something about it.

“If I do this,” Jyn said. “It will be on my terms. And after you get what you want, I’ll be free to go.” The two Detectives stayed silent, but she could see Draven was considering it. “At the end of the day, it’s you who’ll benefit.”

“Very well,” the Captain said eventually. “If we locate your father, he will be extracted and brought back to California for testimony. But until we’re satisfied with what we’ve got, you’ll be under police supervision. Detective Andor will escort you home; get the things you need and we’ll put you up in a motel under our supervision for tonight.” A flash of fear passed over Cassian’s face, but he recovered quickly and muttered an agreement.

“I’ll go with him,” Esso offered, prompting a subtle sigh of relief from Cassian. Jyn couldn't help but find that amusing.

Draven took a key out of his pocket and freed Jyn from the handcuffs; she rubbed her wrists gently, more out of habit from previous arrests than any actual discomfort. Esso took her arm softly, and lead her out of the room - Cassian, Draven, and the girl followed behind. Everyone was staring at her.

“Don’t get comfortable,” Draven said. “You three are leaving for Jedah City in the morning.”

******

Cassian could feel Kay’s glare of judgement burning into his skin as they walked through the precinct. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what was going on - all it took was one look at Cassian’s face when he first saw Jyn.

The people in the precinct weren't trying to hide their shock upon seeing her, people would fall silent as they walked past. Once reaching the exit, Draven stopped him.

“Andor, a word?” He asked. Kay gave them a nod and led Jyn to the car, Cassian stayed behind with the Captain.

“Forget what you heard back there, Andor,” Draven said, in a hushed voice. “There will be no extraction. You find Galen, you see to it he doesn't come back.” Cassian didn't falter. There was enough on his files about his previous service for the Captain to know he was capable of this, and he was more than willing to oblige if it meant a blow to the Empire. In many ways, that part of himself scared him.

“Understood sir.” And with that, Cassian turned on his heels and walked out of the building.

He could see Kay waiting outside by the car, with Jyn sat inside, causing a sudden pang of guilt in his stomach. He pushed it down, along with his shame, and pressed on.

“Is everything okay?” Kay asked, before they got into the car. Cassian nodded, not meeting his gaze.

Once inside, Cassian started to fire the car up and Kay turned to Jyn.

“So, the Captain is sending you with us to Mexico?” He said plainly.

“Apparently so.” Jyn replied.

“That is a bad idea,” he said, turning back into his seat and looking at his friend. “I think so, and so does Cassian.” He didn't attempt to argue, still not being able to look at Jyn for too long.

“Shush Kay, let's get going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, so I'm going on holiday for ten days so there won't be a new update for a little while. Chapter 3 is under way don't worry, I'm not abandoning the fic. Just bare with me, there will be a lot of new chapters after these ten days because I'm off college. See you soon guys!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so just a few disclaimers:  
> \- I am neither American or Mexican, most of what I know is what I've read in prep for this fic.  
> \- I have never had PTSD, but have read around the topic a lot so I am trying my best to accurately portray it.  
> \- This is my first major fic, so I am learning as I go. If I write anything inappropriately or stereo-typically, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix it!  
> Thank you so much for reading, I will aim to update weekly but really it'll just be as often as I can.


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